The latest on Gracie Gold

[tulosai]

I'm another one who thinks TSL did okay with this, and I rarely watch them since I haven't always been pleased with their tone in the past. Yeah, they were pretty gossipy, to the point where it reminded me a little of high school, but I actually didn't feel they were unfair to Frank or Gracie or that they tried to really blow things way out of proportion despite the very gossipy nature of the segment- I did feel they liked the dram, but I did not feel that they relished that this had come to this point to begin with if that makes any sense. It wasn't like they were glad it happened but more like 'well, since it did, let's dish'. They said some negative and positive things about both Frank and Gracie, and a fair amount of what they said was future oriented and actually potentially constructive about where they think Gracie could or should go from here.

I did laugh that Dave also coined it Jacketgate. I got there first, Dave!

 

[Mathman]

I think Gracie's exact quote was:

Even though today’s skating was subpar, there’s not a doubt in my mind that this has been a rough season, but that I’m still pretty much one of the best skaters in the United States and in the world. … All I know is that, given the opportunity, I wouldn’t let them down and I think that I would be a very wise pick for the world team.

That doesn't seem so terrible to me.

 

[andromache]

@andromache
I agree, I also thought that TSL's summary was good. They weren't nasty or unfair to either Gracie or Frank. They just portrayed how this coach - athlete relationship isn't working, that can happen. Nobody's fault imo, sometimes it just doesn't work. My impression is that Frank had a good connection with Carly but not with Gracie. I think that Gracie and Frank just always talked past each other.

I think it was probably harder for Gracie given the pressure she puts on herself and being a perfectionist, whereas Carly has always seemed more laid-back (entirely based on social media and how they act at skating events - I really know nothing, lol). Gracie and Frank worked well to start with, obviously, but I think as her "failures" (failures in her mind, at least) she probably became more and more closed-off because she kept going out and failing and she couldn't figure out why. Being a headcase or dealing with anxiety or other issues just sucks. You keep messing up and you don't know why, and it's that kind of frustration, like something is wrong with you, you keep failing no matter what you do, you can't see a reason why it's happening and neither can anyone else, so everyone just blames you and you blame you, too.

There was a quote around here somewhere about Gracie feeling like that World gold medal should've been hers and she couldn't figure out why she didn't have it. On the surface, it's easy to dismiss her - well Gracie, you messed up the LP, that's why you lost. But trying to figure out why she messed up the LP when could do it in her sleep?

You can't connect with anyone when you feel like you're disappointing everyone around you.

 

[andromache]

I think the text clearly states that it is his decision to announce it before informing her. Right?

https://mobile.twitter.com/olyphil/status/823295765346942977/photo/1

I still think it's a little unclear and can be read either way...but I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Manitou]

I think Gracie's exact quote was:
...

Where is the link to the interview?

 

[FlattFan]

I think Gracie's exact quote was:



That doesn't seem so terrible to me.

It doesn't seem terrible. It is delusional though.

 

[Watermelondrea]

Remember how dreadful Pogorilaya's K&Cs were and now, they are the funnest ones?!! Let's just hope Gracie has a Pogorilaya moment, pulls it together for one competition, and then enjoys the rest of her career.

 

[chuckm]

What Gracie said is true---other than this season, she IS one of the best skaters in the US and the world. Every top skater goes through a bad patch. Ashley, Kostner, Mao, all have had their rough seasons but were able to come back and soar. I am sure Gracie can do that, too.

 

[andromache]

I think Gracie's exact quote was:



That doesn't seem so terrible to me.

The quote was also preceded by a statement about knowing that the selection committee reads what they say in interviews. She was speaking to them, not to anyone else, really. It's not arrogance - it's frustration and a desperate attempt to stay positive.

Seems like some posters here who never liked Gracie anyway just want to kick a girl while she's down by making personal judgments.

I personally think Liza could be excellent inspiration for Gracie moving forward. Don't know why y'all have a problem with that.

 

[bytheriver]

I think we could read that text in any number of ways, but by all eyewitness accounts Gracie and Frank's relationship was almost entirely deteriorated during Nationals week. They were at either at each other's throats or ignoring each other. Frank tried to hug Gracie after she came off the ice and she walked right past him. They argued before her short program (and apparently before her long). The relationship was dead before she stepped off the ice after the free skate and I'm pretty sure they both knew that.

Gracie seemed willing to hang on for the Olympic year (based on her mixed zone interview), but I think Frank came to a personal decision about how he wanted to handle it and spoke too candidly to Phil Hersh. In TSL interview they mentioned that Frank actually realized that he probably shouldn't have said it to the press immediately after he said that "there will be a change," but by that point it was too late. Should he have waited to officially resign with Gracie and her family? Yes. Did he make a mistake? Certainly. Does that mean he blindsighted her out of malice? No. People make mistakes (even 80-year-old men who have been in the business for decades).

 

[Manitou]

That doesn't seem so terrible to me.

By points alone at Nationals she would be 4th in Canada, 12th in Russia and 11th in Japan. So including the 5th place in the US she is 29th in the world. Adding other countries let's say 35th in the world. Which technically should place her, indeed, as "one of the best in the world"....

 

[Tolstoj]

Remember how dreadful Pogorilaya's K&Cs were and now, they are the funnest ones?!! Let's just hope Gracie has a Pogorilaya moment, pulls it together for one competition, and then enjoys the rest of her career.

Well i don't remember when Pogo started to compare herself to other skaters (who won much more titles than her) and saying that she is the best.

 

[chuckm]

It doesn't seem terrible. It is delusional though.

Is it? In the past four years, Gracie has been twice a US Champion and twice a silver US medalwinner. She has finished in the top 6 in the World at every Worlds for the past 4 years and was 4th at the 2014 Olympics. I'd say those stats make her one of the best skaters in the US and the World. Four months of subpar results don't negate four years of excellent results.

 

[padme21]

Wow. Everyone needs to take a chill pill. Gracie is an adult who is in the media spotlight at times. She should act accordingly. My mom and I thought that Gracie was in the denial stage. Saying that she was still the best skater in the US and one of the top world class skaters. She was clearly in denial her results at worlds, GP and Nationals said other wise. With her stayments like that she did come across as arrogant in thinking that she was a lock for the world team. What I want Gracie to do is to do want she loves. If that still includes figure skating great if not then it's time to move on and find something new.

 

[andromache]

Well i don't remember when Pogo started to compare herself to other skaters (who won much more titles than her) and saying that she is the best.

Your reading comprehension is astoundingly selective. She said "ONE OF the best in the world" and if you look at the world standings and her stats, she's not wrong.

She also compared herself to Liza in order to say that all skaters have ups and downs. What's wrong with that? It's the truth.

 

[FlattFan]

Is it? In the past four years, Gracie has been twice a US Champion and twice a silver US medalwinner. She has finished in the top 6 in the World at every Worlds for the past 4 years and was 4th at the 2014 Olympics. I'd say those stats make her one of the best skaters in the US and the World. 6 months of subpar results don't negate four years of excellent results.

Mostly due to her skating very well, but you see, they still regarded her as the 2nd tier type of skaters in 2014.
2015 was a weak year, and like ships on low tide, she went down as well.
2016 was her only chance. With massive push from USFS, her score went up a lot. Still can't handle her nerve and place out of the medal.

So she's a typical 2nd tier skaters who rose when other also rose and fell when others fell. She's not top tier of any mean. Where is her GPF medal?

 

[andromache]

Wow. Everyone needs to take a chill pill. Gracie is an adult who is in the media spotlight at times. She should act accordingly. My mom and I thought that Gracie was in the denial stage. Saying that she was still the best skater in the US and one of the top world class skaters. She was clearly in denial her results at worlds, GP and Nationals said other wise. With her stayments like that she did come across as arrogant in thinking that she was a lock for the world team. What I want Gracie to do is to do want she loves. If that still includes figure skating great if not then it's time to move on and find something new.

Wow! It's like people never say BS about themselves to the media! They must be either delusional or arrogant or in denial, instead of simply trying to make a case to USFS for a spot, especially since she said "I know the committee reads these interviews"! Oh my heavens! How dare she!

 

[bytheriver]

I am going to say something really controversial. Don't flame me to death.

I taught high school for 16 years and saw a lot of parents over the years who berated their kids to pieces when they didn't perform perfectly.

These were small schools and kids playing for pretty low stakes in the grand scheme of things. The parental $$ investment was not very big.

Frank may have never been the real problem here. He has said that he had been clear with her that nothing about Boston was the end of the world.

Just to add onto this from a former athlete's perspective (and I'm not saying that this is absolutely the case with GG, just a personal anecdote):

When I was younger and still competing, I absolutely felt pressure from my parents to do well. They invested tens of thousands of dollars into a sport because they had been told since I was a child that I was "Olympic material." I really wish coaches would stop telling parents that because it changes the way they interact with their child's sport. Once they had these expectations of me and my abilities (and invested a ton of money into developing them), the pressure was on and it really sucked out any bit of joy I had in the sport. I was never free of it because when I got home it was a topic of conversation at the dinner table.

In my experience, most of the parents of elite athletes (gymnasts in this case) that I saw were overly invested emotionally in their kids' outcomes. I've seen parents outright yell at their kids for not being on the podium. I once got the cold shoulder from my mom because I was in 4th place AA. This made my performance anxiety so bad that I started bombing more often than not, making my home life more difficult and creating more anxiety.

I'm not saying these types of parents are bad, and I'm not saying every parent of an elite athlete is like this, but it is way more common than most people would like to believe. My wish is that (if, big IF) this is the case for Gracie, that she finds it in herself to make a decision about her future without feeling pressured by familial expectations. If she continues in the sport, perhaps moving away from that would be helpful.

/possibly unhelpful anecdote, haha.

 

[topaz emerald]

I think we could read that text in any number of ways, but by all eyewitness accounts Gracie and Frank's relationship was almost entirely deteriorated during Nationals week. They were at either at each other's throats or ignoring each other. Frank tried to hug Gracie after she came off the ice and she walked right past him. They argued before her short program (and apparently before her long). The relationship was dead before she stepped off the ice after the free skate and I'm pretty sure they both knew that.

Gracie seemed willing to hang on for the Olympic year (based on her mixed zone interview), but I think Frank came to a personal decision about how he wanted to handle it and spoke too candidly to Phil Hersh. In TSL interview they mentioned that Frank actually realized that he probably shouldn't have said it to the press immediately after he said that "there will be a change," but by that point it was too late. Should he have waited to officially resign with Gracie and her family? Yes. Did he make a mistake? Certainly. Does that mean he blindsighted her out of malice? No. People make mistakes (even 80-year-old men who have been in the business for decades).

i think he wanted to beat her to the punch after seeing her free skate because that was very embarrassing and shocking to witness. He didn't want to be blamed for Gracie faltering and because he didn't have a good relationship with her, he decided to tell the press "she's in a deep, deep depression", to shift the blame away from him. It's like a boss telling his other employees that Joe will be fired before Joe even hears of it. It's extremely unprofessional. But it happens and Gracie should take this terrible experience, learn from it, take a couple months off to vacation somewhere nice (does she have a boyfriend? laughs), and get back in competitiive skating mode (eat healthy, get toned, start thinking about music choices/choreographer/coach). Wish her good luck.

 

[Jammers]

Gracie needed to take this season off because she was not ready or prepared to compete at all and now she has lost 4 months that she could have had to plan for next season.